Seeing Skeletons
by Kinz.911
Summary: He had been away, he couldn’t stop it, and no one seemed notice Nakamori Aoko slowly deteriorating. review, please?
1. horrible discovery

Disclaimer: I do not own Magic Kaito

Disclaimer: I do not own Magic Kaito. And probably, that's a good thing. I do wish Gosho would write more on it.

Hakuba slammed his fist on his desk and then moved his bangs out of his face with his free hand, his mind was racing. How had he not seen it? How had he not noticed? Why did he go off to England? He should have stayed, he would've stopped it.

Hakuba straightened up and went to the kitchen to take a sip of the hot tea his housekeeper had prepared for him. Maybe, just maybe, he was jumping to conclusions. Either way, he had to find out. He set the teacup down and hurried off to the Nakamori residence in search of the daughter.

On his way he thought about how she looked earlier that day, dressed in that black skirt and red shirt, a green jacket over it to hide-to hide what? She wasn't hiding anything, no one noticed. Because her legs were also incredibly thin. Her knees and shins were exposed, everyone could see how thin she was, couldn't they? She didn't act like anything was wrong, and neither did Kaito. They had both come to greet him at the airport. He had frozen in the terminal at the sight of the both of them, he hadn't expected a welcoming committee, other then from his housekeeper. But he froze again when he saw how incredibly thin Aoko had gotten, she was much smaller then she had been, and Aoko had never been shy around food.

Saguru reached the house and took a few breaths, he was going to get to the bottom of this. He had never actually been to the house, so it was slightly awkward, but he was far too worried to be concerned with that. He shuffled nervously and knocked on the door, not having to wait long before the Aoko pulled open the door to let him in. She wasn't wearing the jacket now, he could see the outline of her collarbone more vividly then he should have been able to. It hurt to it.

"A-Aoko-kun, I thought I might-hold on, where is Keibu-san?" He looked around, noticing Ginzo Nakamori was not around. Aoko sighed and went over to the kitchen to make a pot of heated green tea.

"He's at work." She explained. Hakuba blinked.

"B-but there wasn't a heist tonight, was there?" He questioned. Aoko shook her head and Saguru guessed that Nakamori was in the office going over past cases or paper work or something of that nature. But he had a home office, couldn't he use that? "Well… I-I was wondering… would you, would you like to go to dinner with me?" He questioned, his turning a light shade of pink, he wouldn't normally be so forward, but he had to find out.

"I'm not really hungry, but, we can go see a movie or something." She offered, smiling cheerily. Saguru noticed her grip her wrist with her thumb and index finger. He felt something inside him brake…

He had been away, he couldn't stop it, and no one seemed notice Nakamori Aoko slowly deteriorating.


	2. she was invisible

((I do not own Magic Kaito))

((Sorry for the long update))

The door slammed and the blond teenaged detective stepped into his study, letting a large pile of books topple onto the couch. All the books held one thing in common. They were all about eating disorders. The teen settled into the chair behind his desk and opened up the laptop that set there. Immediately he opened up a web browser and typed in the words 'anorexia nervosa' into the search bar. He didn't hesitate to press enter.

How long had this been going on? Was it too late to stop it? Why hadn't anyone noticed? That was his main question. Kuroba or Nakamori should have noticed. They saw her on a daily basis. Were they too blind to notice? The school should have! They should have said something.

Saguru had taken her to the movie, he paid for it and offered to get her any food she wanted, but she refused. She did let him buy her a medium drink though. A medium water. There had to be something she was eating, so what was it? He skimmed through a few medical sites and printed off several sheet of paper. Should he take this to Nakamori? Or try to help her an not worry the others? But this wasn't something to take a chance with.

It was an invisible monster, and he couldn't fight it. He could help her, but just him wouldn't be enough if it had been going on for a while. How long had he been gone? About five months? If she had started this when he went away then it could be too late for him to help, she could need professional help now.

He slammed his fist down on the table again. He didn't know, he couldn't ask, she wouldn't admit it. He'd have to tell Nakamori, but would he believe it? Or would he deny it? A lot of parents did. He rubbed his temples and grabbed the printed papers, stuffing them in an envelope and heading to the police station. He slid inside and got passed the front desk with a small conversation and welcome back.

Saguru pressed the button to call the elevator to take him to the second floor and to Ginzo's office. He waved to the random task force member standing out the office before knocking.

Kuroba Kaito slid out and blinked. "What are you doing here Detective?" He inquired, looking at the envelope.

"I have to see the inspector about something urgent. What about you?"

"Keibu wanted to talk to me about the next heist, asked me for help." Kaito said proudly. Hakuba blinked and let out a discontented sigh.

"He's lost his mind..." he muttered, sliding into the office.

Nakamori was going through past kid files, muttering curses under his breath as he sat down in his chair and pulled open a new window on his computer.

"K-Keibu-san?" Hakuba entered, reluctantly and closed the door. "Do you have a minute?" Nakamori looked up and grunted a confirmation, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

"Welcome back, by the way." His boss stated. Hakuba nodded and fidgeted uneasily, unsure how to bring what he needed to, up.

"I-I went to pay Aoko-kun a visit today." He confessed. Nakamori raised an eyebrow.

"Did you? That's good, she could do with more company." He stated. Hakuba let out a sigh, relieved he didn't assume dishonorable things of him.

"I-She's lost a lot weight."

"Has she? I don't get see her that often anymore, good for her." Nakamori went back to looking over past cases.

"No, Keibu, she's lost a LOT of weight."

"I don't-"

"I don't think she's been eating." He blurted. At that Nakamori's head snapped to attention.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly that. I asked her to dinner, to see and she refused, so we went to the movies, I offered her anything she wanted but she only wanted water."

"What are you saying?" He could feel the suspicion. Hakuba gulped.

"I think Aoko-kun is anorexic." He winced.

"Aoko is NOT anorexic. She's a smart girl and know better then to starve herself." Nakamori stated, waving it off.

"But Keibu! She's so _thin_."

"She's not anorexic. If she was, I would know."

"Would you?" hakuba asked, wincing at his own icy tone. "You just said yourself that you don't get to see her-"

"Out." Nakamori cut him off. Hakuba thought about staying but stood up and dropped the envelope on his desk, sliding out of the office and heading back home. He made it through the hall way, to the elevator and four steps out the door before he was stopped.

"So, what was the urgent business?" He froze and turned to face Kaito. He couldn't help but glare, this was mostly his fault, after all. He pulled his jacket on better and shrugged.

"'bout Aoko-kun." He stated dismissively. Kaito blinked.

"Why? What's wrong with her?"

"You saw her today, _you should have noticed_." Hakuba stated, moving to head home, the magician falling into step beside him.

"What does that mean?"

"Have you paid any attention to her? Any? Have you noticed she's getting smaller?"

"So she's lost a little weight, what are you getting at?"

"A little? Her collar bone is sticking out. There's barely any muscle on her legs and arms." Hakuba snapped. "And you know why? Because no one noticed when stopped eating, they were all too damn busy with the stupid Kid heists." Kaito froze, looking horrified.

"No, no, you're wrong. Aoko wouldn't. She just wouldn't. She knows better. She's not easily taken in by societies... she's not... If this is some way to trick me into admitting to being Kid, which I'm NOT, I will hit you." He looked serious.

"I wish it was Kuroba-kun, but I feel like hitting you." _It's your fault._ Kaito shrugged it off and went ahead of him.


	3. ice cream

((I do not own Magic Kaito))

The door slammed and the girl sitting on the couch jerked to attention and turned to face her father, a bowl of cherries sitting on her stomach. She moved the bowl to the side table and jumped up to greet him, it sounded like he had a bad day. But he was home early, maybe they could play a game to get his mind off it.

"Touchan!" She hopped up to greet him. Nakamori hugged his daughter with one arm, a cluster of papers in his hand. He moved to his office and dropped the papers on his desk before coming back out to really look at his daughter. "Nani?" She asked, looking down at herself to see if something was on her.

"A-Aoko... when's the last time you ate something?" He asked, almost afraid. Aoko's eyes widened slightly and glanced over at half full bowl of cherries.

"Just a few minutes ago," she answered. Nakamori raised an eyes brow and followed her gaze to the bowl. He let out a sigh of relief and hugged his daughter again.

"Oh, good. That's... good. But Hakuba was right, you are getting a little thin, try to eat a little bit more, okay?" He kissed her forehead. "I have some.. reading I need to do, then we can go to the movies or something, just me and you, alright?"

"Really!?" Aoko's face lit up. "I'll finish my homework now then." she bounded into her room. Nakamori moved back into his study and picked up the papers Hakuba had left in his office, sitting in his chair to review them.

Aoko shut the door behind her and leaned against it, holding her wrist with her thumb and index finger. Hakuba thought she was getting thin? She shook her head and reached for her bag so she could start on her English homework, getting it done quickly and returning to the couch to watch sappy romance movies while she devoured the last bit of the cherries in her bowl. She looked up as her father came out of his office with his keys in hand.

"Let me go change and we can go." He offered, turning to his room. Aoko nodded happily and got up to take the bowl to the sink, rinsing it off and sticking it in the dishwasher. She grabbed her purse and waited by the door for her father. He resurfaced moments later in a polo shirt and kaki pants, slipping his bill-fold into his back pocket.

He gently wrapped an arm around Aoko's shoulders, forced to realize how small they were and led her out to the car.

--

"Aoko, what snack do you want? Gummibears? He asked, reaching the concession stand. Aoko shook her head. "Really? But that's what you always get, how about some popcorn?"

"Actually, I'm not that hungry, but I'll take a water." Aoko stated, sounding as if there was nothing wrong with it. Nakamori blinked and sighed, ordering her water.

"I'll get a large popcorn, we can share." He decided, ordering that as well. Aoko nodded, smiling sort of sadly.

"Okay Touchan." She agreed. "We can share." She sipped at her water bottle as they walked toward the theater their movie was playing in. They settled into seats in the middle of the room so they had the best view. Nakamori passed the bag of popcorn over to Aoko and she politely declined, still sipping on water.

"Aoko, the point of me getting a large was to share, you haven't eaten any." Ginzou pointed out, holding the bag out to her. Aoko sighed took one kernel.

"There. I'm really not hungry Touchan. I'll eat some if I do get hungry." She promised, leaning back in her seat to watch the movie. Nakamori looked down at the popcorn. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore, Hakuba could be right. But it wasn't enough to decide.

After the movie Nakamori offered to go for ice cream but his daughter shook her head and yawned, stating she was tired and just wanted to go to bed. Ginzou sighed and agreed, driving the both of them home and letting her go off to bed.

Aoko trudged into her room and held her wrist, to making sure she was still the same size and slid onto the ground, resting her head against the door. She stayed still for a minute before moving to the middle of her floor and laid down, she took a deep breath and started lifting her back up a little and laying back down, in a perfect crunch.

-

"...You've been doing that for thirty minutes." A voice startled her, forcing her to look over to see Kaito perched on her window sill. Aoko sat up entirely, now coated in a thin layer of sweat.

"So I want to stay in shape, leave me alone." she stuck her tongue out at him. "Ne, do you have any water on you." Kaito blinked and made a water bottle appear for her, holding it out. She took it and unscrewed the lid, taking a long drink before sitting on her bed. "Touchan's here, but I think he's asleep."

"No, he's in his office." The magician stated, slipping into her room. "Hakuba-"

"Hakuba-kun told you I've gotten thin, didn't he?"

"He wasn't-He said you weren't eating because of Kid, is that-is that true?" He was afraid of the answer, she could tell. Aoko calmly shook her head and took another drink of water, setting it on the night stand.

"Of course not, Kaito. Touchan and I just went to the movies, we shared a large popcorn, and I had eaten a bowl of cherries before that, so he's worrying for nothing." She stated, leaning back on her bed. Kaito bit his lip and stepped into her room, sliding off his shoes and going to lay next to her.

"He's right though, you have gotten.. thinner." He stated, turning to look at her. "You know, if anything's bothering you-you know you can talk to me right? I'll listen to anything you want to say to me." Aoko glanced at him and sat up a little.

"I'm okay Kaito, really. Maybe a little stressed from that test that's coming up, but that's all. Honest." subconsciously she held her wrist again, assuring herself she was the same size. Kaito seemed to have missed the movement, because he didn't say anything.

"If you're sure, I should probably head home before you Dad realizes you have company." He moved to get up and grab his shoes. "I'll see you at school tomorrow okay?" He sat on the window sill again.

"Oh, sure." Aoko smiled. "I want do some more crunches before bed anyway." Kaito faltered and then offered a smile.

"Hey, tomorrow... you want to get lunch after school? My treat." he asked. Aoko blinked.

"Oh, I-sure." She agreed. "that sounds good." At that Kaito's smile grew.

"Okay, I'll meet you by the gate." He slipped out. Aoko let out a sigh as she left, knowing full well she wasn't going to eat anything tomorrow and closed the window, locking it up.

-

"I'll have curry and orange juice." Kaito handed the menu back to the waiter. Aoko glanced at the menu and grimaced at everything available.

"Ne, can I get a bowl of cherries?" she inquired. "And a water?" The waiter blinked and then nodded, taking her menu.

"A bowl of cherries?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. "I know it's your favorite, but you could get a meal." He leaned back. Aoko shrugged.

"I'm just not that hungry, I guess." She glanced out the window to avoid staring at him. Kaito sat up again, worry crossing his face before he could stop it.

"Not-? but you haven't eaten since breakfast. And that for you is normally a poptart."

"Well, I woke up early this morning and made a big breakfast for Touchan and I." She stated. "So I'm still full." Kaito blinked and sat back.

"Oh, well.. okay." he sipped his juice when it came, watching Aoko curiously. Aoko merely sipped at her water and stared out the window.

Kaito watched as she ate the cherries. She stuck the object in her mouth and pulled the stem off, dropping it lazily back in to the bowl. "...Want some of my curry?" He offered. "I know you said you weren't hungry, but. just a bite? That won't hurt, right?" Aoko blinked and looked at the chopsticks he was holding out to her.

"Of course not." she smiled, taking them and getting a small bite of the curry. "The place still has the best curry." She handed the chop stick back to him. Kaito smiled back, happier now.

"Yeah, always get it when I come here." he chirped, taking another bite and letting the subject drop. It sure seemed like she was eating.

-

Once home again, Aoko leaned against her door and checked her wrist before laying down in the middle of her floor to start her crunches again.

_...94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 9-RING!_ She sat up and blinked as her phone went off, a cheery J-pop theme set as her ring tone. "Hi Keiko-chan!" She said happily, leaning against her bed.

"Aoko-chan! What are you up to?"

"Just doing come crunches, you?" Aoko answered honestly, standing up to pace her room.

"Well, shower okay? We're all going shopping." Keiko cheered. "Kaito-kun and Hakuba-kun agreed to come if you would go, so you have to come." Aoko blinked, sitting on her bed.

"Really? Then I'll meet up with you at the department store in an hour, okay?" She asked, sounding cheery. "Bye." She hung up and went over to her closet to hunt out an outfit to wear.

-

"Aoko-kun." Hakuba greeted, smiling at the girl and forcing himself to ignore her thin figure. Aoko smiled as she greeted him along with Kaito and Keiko. She looked a lot happier. Hakuba noticed, glad to just just be with all her friends, he supposed watching as the girls looked through clothes to buy.

"I think you were wrong." Kaito stated. "I think she's fine."

"Do you?" Hakuba glanced at the thief. "Moimo-chan said she was doing crunches when she called." The blond sighed and sat down on a bench, waiting on the girls. Kaito blinked. She had been doing crunches when he stopped to visit her last night.

"So she likes doing crunches, is that bad?" He asked. Saguru shook his head.

"No, but constant exercise is another symptom" He stated. Kaito glanced back at the girls, the one in particular.

"But, she said she shared popcorn with Keibu, that's something, right? and she had a bite of my Curry earlier."

"She could've lied. And a bite isn't much at all, if she's caught on that you're worried, she's going to hide it." Kaito glared but turned a worried look at Aoko.

"She wouldn't..." he muttered. "She knows better."

"So do half the girls who developed the eating disorder." He stood up as the girls approached, shopping bags in hand. "Want to get ice cream? I'll pay for everyone." he offered, plastering a smile on his face.

"Sure! Chocolate sounds really good!" Aoko cheered. Hakuba blinked and then smiled again, nodding as he led the two to the ice cream parlor, Kaito trailing behind.

"Two scoops of chocolate please." Aoko requested, taking the ice cream cone and wandering over to the others, happily licking the frozen treat. Keiko looked at her small scoop of cookies n' cream and pouted.

"Mou, Aoko-chan can eat so much and stay so thin. I'm really jealous." Hakuba froze and snapped his attention on Aoko, watching her. Aoko faltered and looked at the ice cream cone.

"I-I don't know what I was thinking, I can't eat all this... I'm not even hungry." she strode over to the waste bin to drop it in. Hakuba brought his hand to his face, shaking his head. Keiko obviously didn't know. Kaito stared at Aoko, horrified. Saguru got up and turned to them.

"I-I need to get home." He decided, heading away.

"Me too." Kaito decided. "I have some... things I need to do." He left the building. Aoko blinked. They hadn't even been out for long.

"I-I need to do more crunches." She told Keiko, leaving as well.

((Damn it. I can't get these chapters to be long DX))


	4. stronger voice

"Nakamori. Is something bothering you?" the P.E. coach inquired, pulling the girl to the side and looking her over. "You're looking a little thin." She stated.

"No sensei, I'm fine." Aoko smiled, shaking her head and pulling away. "But, I'm feeling a little tired, mind if I take a break?" she inquired. The PE teacher looked her over again and then nodded.

"yeah, but do another lap first." Aoko nodded and headed for the track, her pony tail bouncing in the back as she hurried to complete her fitness gram. She got a couple of meters away before she started to feel strange. Aoko slowed to a stop and held her head, shaking off the strange dizzy feeling. It wasn't going away. 'Well' She thought to herself. 'It's one more lap, I can make that. Besides, it's good for me.' She encouraged herself, starting to run again.

'See?' she thought to herself. 'I can do this.' She get several more yards. Her ankle turned and she fell. Sprawling on the concrete.

"AOKO!" Hakuba happened to be passing on to his next lap when he saw the girl go down and bolted. "Are you alright?" He slipped an arm around her small shoulders to hoist her up a little.

"I-I'm okay." Aoko answered, twisting to stand back up. "I just-just got a little dizzy, that's all." Hakuba backed off so she could stand, looking the small girl over.

"A-are you sure?" He asked, hesitantly. "M-maybe you should sit down, get a bottle of water?" He offered. "Something to eat?" He slipped in casually. Aoko shook her head and froze.

"Eh? M-maybe a bottle of water, but I'm still full from breakfast."

"No you're not." A new voice cut in. "All you eat for breakfast is a pop tart. But you haven't even eaten that, have you?" Kaito demanded, walking over to them. "What have you eaten today?" Aoko blinked, looking from him to Saguru.

"Eh?"

"Don't you dare act surprised. What have you eaten?" The thief demanded. Aoko backed away a little.

"I-I ate a bowl of cherries before school." she answered honestly. "I have been eating." Hakuba grit his teeth.

"No Aoko, you're favoring one food. a bowl of cherries is not doing anything!" Kaito snapped. Aoko jerked and moved towards Hakuba. Saguru calmly pulled her into his arms.

"Kuroba-kun. Stop." He told the other boy. "It's not going to help anything." He ignored Kaito's glare. Aoko blinked and wrapped her arms around him resting her head on his shoulder.

"Why won't it help? If she knows we know then she won't be able to hide it from us."

"Exactly. It'll stress her out even more." He pet her hair. Aoko took several deep breaths, ignoring the conversation. She was fine, just looking out for her health. She'd show them.

"Stress her-?" Kaito bit his lip and looked away. "...I'm going home." He decided, walking off. Hakuba let out a sigh and pulled her to arms length.

"Aoko-kun. l hate seeing this happen to you. Even my patience it wearing thin. Please, try to eat." Aoko looked up at him and shoved him away.

"I am eating." She snapped, turning and running off. Saguru closed his eyes and shook his head. This was getting out of hand.

-

"Aoko." Nakamori entered the house, slamming the door behind him. Aoko looked up from watching TV to look at him. "You haven't been eating. Hakuba-kun told me. This has got to stop. I can't keep coming home from work to make you eat something." He stated.

"Eh? Hakuba-kun is lying, I had some cherries earlier."

"That's all though. Even Kaito-kun has noticed it now. You're not eating anything else. Aoko, you could -die- if you don't eat." Aoko stood up, backing toward her room.

"I-I'm sorry I-"

"I don't want another phone call telling me you haven't been eating, do you understand?"

"Y-Yes." She got out. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-I'll make sure it stops." The girl said. Nakamori let out a sigh of relief and went to hug his daughter.

"Okay, so, want to go out for dinner?" He offered. Aoko blinked.

"N-no, that's okay, I'll cook something." She smiled, moving to the kitchen.

"If you want to." Nakamori agreed, moving to his office. "Let me know when it's ready."

"Of course!" She answered, opening the pantry and hunting for something to cook.

A few hours later she was setting the chicken casserole on the table and taking a seat in front of her father, spooning out some for him and then hesitating to spoon some out for herself. She looked at him as she put the smallest amount she could on the plate. Nakamori put down his fork and watched her.

"Put more on your plate then that." He told her. Aoko reluctantly obeyed, giving herself a good helping of the dinner. She silently thanked the lord when her phone rang, excusing her from the meal.

"Oh hi Keiko-chan!" She greeted. "Go see a movie? Sounds like fun!" She hung up and turned to go to her room.

"Aoko." Ginzou stopped her. "Come back and eat your dinner first." Aoko turned to face him.

"It's alright, I'll just get something on the way-"

"Eat. Your dinner." His voice left no room for argument. Aoko stared at him a moment, she couldn't eat it. If she ate it she'd gain the weight she lost, and it was fattening.

"I don't want it!" She yelled, leaving through the front door before he could stop her. Aoko took a breath and stormed in the direction of Hakuba's house, muttering under her breath the whole way.

-

"Why did you tell everyone?" She demanded as Saguru opened the door. "You told everyone I wasn't eating. Why?"

"B-Because you aren't." He couldn't help but answer honestly. Aoko glared.

"You. No one noticed until you said something!" Hakuba blinked.

"What!? You did this on purpose."

"I wanted to lose weight and I thought by cutting out all the really fattening things, and narrowing it down to a couple-"

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that. I know you know better. Now tell me. Do you honestly think that's true?" Aoko blinked.

"W-Well I-" Now that she thought about it, it did sound stupid. "I only started because-I wanted-I" Hakuba blinked and pulled her into another hug.

"No one was paying attention to me. I wondered if, If-if I did something-they would notice." Aoko started. "I thought maybe.." She let out a sob. Hakuba closed his eyes and held her tighter.

"Shh, It's okay Aoko-kun, we can stop it. I promise. We'll just, Baaya made some soup, we can have some of that?" Soup? That didn't sound good at all. It sounded fattening. Something in her rebelled against her. She yelled at her her Dad about dinner. She couldn't eat. It'd be wrong. Besides, it was fattening.

But she was worrying everyone. She should just eat the bowl of soup. It wouldn't be that hard.

_No. _A stronger voice in her head stated. _No. Think about all that progress you made, all that weight. You'll only gain it all back. Don't eat it. It's not his business what you eat and don't eat. You were doing so well._ Aoko shook her head against him.

"Hakuba-kun..." Aoko started, trying to shake the voice out of her head. "I-I don't think I can eat."


	5. Mistake

((I do not own Magic Kaito))

"_Hakuba-kun... I-I don't think I can eat..."_

The words seemed to echo in his head. Was it really so bad? Was he too late? He grit his teeth, fighting back a guilty feeling, why had he gone away. He would have noticed. He could have stopped this from-. There was no point in playing the blame game. It was obvious who's fault this all was anyway. He moved to hug her again, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"Aoko-kun," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." He didn't know what to do, in the midst of kid case his friend and the only girl he'd ever liked had gotten hurt, and not physically, she was mentally hurting, having proved to herself that she was invisible to everyone. He felt her wrap her thin arms around him, leaning into the hug. She suddenly felt thinner then she had earlier that day, he felt like she was slipping away, despite the fact his arms were securely wrapped around her.

"I shouldn't have-It was supposed to-I fully intended on-I waited for someone to say something." Her voice broke, and he could feel the sobs wracking her body. It hurt. "But no one did." She sobbed into his shoulder. "No one said anything."

"I said something." Saguru pointed out, rocking her back in forth. "I noticed." He soothed. Aoko froze for a minute, realizing he was right. He had noticed, he was trying to help and being extraordinarily careful not to make everything worse. She swallowed and looked up at him, staring at him. Kaito didn't notice a thing, just continued on with his life and didn't bother talking to her, talking to her less and less as time went by, but Hakuba had noticed first thing, she realized. The minute he saw her when he got off that plane. She swallowed again and pulled herself up and him down. Her lips pressing against his.

Saguru sat shocked for a two seconds before gaining back his reactions and kissed her back. He pulled away slowly, somewhat reluctantly and looked at her now flushed face. Failing to notice he was blushing slightly as well.

Aoko blinked, not sure what she had just done for second. "I-I have to go." She pulled away and hurried off.

Hakuba just stared after her, realization hitting. '_I-I kissed her. I kissed _Aoko' he thought. '_Or... she kissed me.'_ Was more accurate. But what? Where had that come from. She was nearly out of earshot.

"Aoko-kun!" He called out to her. The girl turned to face him, face still red. He strode over to her and planted a kiss on her lips. "I won't leave your side until all this is over, okay?" He offered.

Aoko blinked. "Y-you-you won't?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Promise." The detective smiled warmly. Aoko gave him a watery smile and hugged him.

"Arigatou." Hakuba returned the hug and watched when she retreated towards home, a small smile coming to his lips.

-

Aoko got home she failed to notice the note from her Dad saying. '_Went out._' Instead of going straight to clean the kitchen as part of daily rituals she went to her room and shut the door loudly behind her, leaning against it. She covered her mouth with her hand and stared at the ground. Her mind racing.

'_I-I kissed _Hakuba-kun. _I kissed him._' She could still feel the warmth in her flushed cheeks. _That-that was my fist kiss.'_ She realized. _Why-why did I-?'_ She liked Kaito, so why did she kiss Hakuba Saguru? Kaito hadn't exactly kept up his duties as her best friend recently. She looked down at her wrist. Oh God. She _was_ thin. She fit her index finger and thumb around her small wrist, '_Progress' _ Hissed the sickening voice inside her head. Tears suddenly starting to fall. How hard was it to notice your friend was suddenly losing more weight then she should? She felt selfish, but she had wanted him to notice. But he didn't. He didn't even look twice until Hakuba said something, suddenly he was aware or how much weight she lost.

She wiped her eyes. And now she couldn't eat. She wanted to. _Gods_ she wanted to. But nothing sounded good. She let out an audible sob. At least Hakuba had promised, he promised not to leave her side. Not until it was over, not until she was better.

She froze, tears suddenly stopping. Not until- so after it was all over everything would go back to how it was? She bit her lip. She didn't want to be left alone. Not again. She took a breath and moved to the center of her floor. Laying on her back she started doing crunches.

..._132, 134, 135, 136, 13-_

"Aoko." A voice suddenly caused her to nearly jump out of her skin and lose count. "What are you doing?" He sounded annoyed. And only two people called her 'Aoko' without an honorific. And Her father never came through the window, why would he?

"I'm exercising, stupid." She responded, trying to think what number she was on. "Now I lost count." She said irately. _1, 2, 3, 4-_

"Aoko." He stopped her again, swinging his legs over and letting himself into her room. "I know that, I can see, I'm not stupid. But why? We should go down to the twenty four hour diner, my treat."

"No." Aoko answered bluntly. Kaito stared, shocked.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered, staring at her. "Why not, I know you haven't eaten today."

"Yeah, I haven't." she said truthfully. "Since cherries don't count to you." She spat back, moving to open her door and storm out.

"Aoko!" Kaito called after her, following. "You nearly passed out today, you need food."

"No." She snapped. "I don't want it. Leave me alone, I'll eat later." She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and reaching for the jar cherries. Kaito glared, moving to intercept as she moved towards her room again, he took the cherries. Aoko blinked, unsure what he had just done.

"Kaito-! Give those back!" She demanded. Kaito hid them behind his back.

"No." He stated. "Not until you eat something decent." Aoko thought about retorting but just let out an annoyed sigh and moved to grab her purse and keys, leaving the house. Kaito looked at the cherry jar in his hands and resisted the urge to throw it. He slammed it down on the counter and followed after the girl.

"Aoko, you have a problem, just admit it and we can fix it." He said once he finally caught up too her.

"You're stupid." She stopped walking turning to him. "I don't have a problem." She poked him, knowing she was lying. "You do. My diet is not your business. Now leave me alone." Kaito shoved her hand away, glaring.

"I have a problem? _I_ have a problem?: He nearly exploded. "I fail to see how, I'm not killing myself over some stupid opinionated version of beauty."

"You really don't know anything!" Aoko snapped, her voice raising. "Are you really this stupid? This thick? Do you really not notice?" Kaito blinked, taken aback but too stubborn to back down.

"I'm not stupid, Aoko, you are." Later, he'd feel like a jerk. "You're wasting away. And why? Because the girls at school said you needed to lose a few pounds? Said you weren't that pretty? Damn Aoko."

"Baka! I didn't do it because I'm not pretty!"

"Then why!?" they were yelling now.

"Because I wanted someone to pay attention to me!" She blurted. "You and Touchan were _always _busy." She seethed, looking a the guilty look on her friends face, feeling it was justified. "I was sick of it. Sick of being pushed to the side because of Kid.-" He winced- "sick of being left _alone._"

"S-so you did it for attention?" Kaito blinked, anger still reflected in his voice. "Aoko I-!" He stopped. "Aoko, you didn't have to-I was paying attention to you, stupid." Aoko glared, resisting the urge to scream at him. She let out a breath and turned on her heel to go back home.

-

"K-Kuroba-kun..." Hakuba blinked as Kaito had set a box down on Aoko's desk. "What are you doing?" he inquired.

"I bought Aoko some doughnuts." Kaito stated, sliding into his seat. Hakuba grit his teeth and picked up the box. "What are doing, Hakuba?" the thief demanded. Hakuba rolled his eyes, moving the box to his own desk.

"You can't just shove food at her." The detective stated. "You'll make it worse."

"Says you. You don't know Aoko like I do." Kaito said defensively. "She loves those kind."

"Maybe not." Saguru admitted, thinking back to the kiss. "But I know anorexia and you. Can't. Push. Food. On her. "

"I know how to take care of my friend. This will work with Aoko."

"No, no it won't. You're being thick. Kaito. Anorexia messes with the mind. She's not herself." He tried to explain. "Just, trust me." Kaito let out a sigh, despite his building temper.

"What do I do then? How can I save her?" Saguru blinked.

"Kuroba-kun, you can't. She has to do it, the most we can do is encourage her, but even that has to be carefully done." He shook his head. "It's a monster, Kuroba. It's a psychological monster and you can't fight it, she has to decide she wants to get better."

"She has to admit she has a problem first." The thief mumbled. Saguru looked up as Aoko slid into the room.

"Morning Aoko-kun." He smiled. Aoko blinked and blushed slightly, slipping into her seat. Kaito glanced at Aoko, a little curious as why she was blushing when Hakuba only said 'morning.'

"A-Aoko... d-do you want a doughnut?" She blinked, grimacing.

"Ew, no."

"B-but you like-"

"Kuroba-kun." Hakuba stopped him. "Leave her alone."

"But-" He nearly retorted but decided against it, sulking in his seat as the bell rang.

-

"A-ano..." Aoko approached Hakuba. "Can we talk?"

Hakuba looked up from getting his bag ready to go and smiled charmingly at her. "Of course, Aoko-kun. What did you want to talk about?"

"Yesterday." She blushed, looking away. Hakuba blinked and stood up, strapping his bag over his shoulder.

"You're not going to take it back are you?" He frowned. The girl blinked and then shook her head, cheeks reddening.

"I-I was just wondering i-if it meant... anything." Hakuba smiled softly pulled her into a hug, he'd been doing that a lot recently.

"It did to me." He assured. "And I'd like for it to keep happening." He told her, half a joke. Aoko flushed again, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Okay." She muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. Hakuba blinked. Did she say 'okay'. But.. didn't she like Kaito? He hadn't exactly been the most supportive about the whole situation.

"Okay?"

"Okay." She nodded against him. Hakuba tilted her chin up slightly and kissed her gently. At that same moment Kaito decided to come back in the room and stopped dead, watching was Aoko and Hakuba kissed.

((...this chapter's not as good. ))


	6. heist

((I do not own Magic Kaito))

Aoko's eyes shot open and she forced herself to sit up in her bed, her legs came up under the covers and she hugged her knees, resting her forehead against them, her mind racing as she replayed the dream. She took several deep breaths, her thoughts focusing on Kaito's face. He had looked so shocked and hurt. But of course, that was only dream Kaito, not like the real Kaito would care. Her mind stepped back again, remembering Hakuba's soft gentle kiss, the way he was really trying to help her, how he understood.

"Oh God." She let out, squeezing her knees closer. Was she falling for Hakuba? He was charming, and sweet and definitely good looking. But he was only paying attention to her because of the anorexia. She swallowed hard and fell back against her pillow, bringing her wrist up to feel her progress. The sickening voice purred in contentment.

Without thinking she threw the covers off and ventured to the mirror on her closet door. She touched the reflection and looked herself over, dragging her fingers down against the glass. She had a quick intake of breath as her skin started to inflate, the weight she'd fought so hard was coming back. She scrambled away from the mirror and turned away from it, watching her fingers return to the size they needed to be.

She took several deep breaths and stared at her hand, waiting for it to happen again. after a long time she finally climbed back into bed and left the thought alone.

-

"Aoko, you haven't said one word to me, you're not still mad are you?" Kaito pressed as they walked to school. Aoko sighed and shook her head, though that was a good excuse.

"I'm not-I just need you to leave me alone for a little while." She decided. Kaito blinked, seeming hurt.

"I-if I leave you alone, will you get better?" He pressed. Aoko stopped walking and let out a sigh, not looking up at him as she realized he really was worried about her, he was just an idiot.

"Kaito I'm-" She paused, looking at him, watching as he clung onto every word she was saying. "Maybe." She admitted. "I-I don't know." Kaito's gaze dropped and he started walking again.

"Oh." Was it really so bad? Bad enough she didn't even know if she could fix it. "Hakuba-kun said you had to decide to get better, that you're the only one who can do anything." Aoko started to walk after him, her mind starting to race again.

"I... I don't know if I'm strong enough to get passed this." She said softly, causing her friend to stop in his tracks and turn back around to watch her.

"A-Aoko.. of course you are! You're the strongest person I know, this is nothing, just a minor road block, right?" Aoko closed her eyes and ignored her stinging eyes.

"No Kaito, you don't seem to understand, part of me and stronger then the other part, and the stronger part is..." She swallowed and pushed passed him. Kaito stood, blank faced as he realized what that meant.

"Aoko!" He called after her, watching as she sped up to get away from him.

"She'll be okay." A voice beside him made him jump. Kaito turned to face Hakuba and glared.

"Will she? She doesn't seem to think she will." The detective closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I promised I'd stay with her until this is all over." Kaito bristled slightly but refused to show it.

"..Don't you have to go to the Heist tonight?" He asked. Hakuba blinked and then sighed.

"A-ah.. but I'll stop to check on Aoko-kun."

-

Kid reached the roof without any trouble, getting ready to dive off when he stopped to think. This was the reason Aoko wasn't eating, because he called everyone away to watch him steal things. Because no one paid attention to her. Was he wrong? Or would the ends justify the means?

"You know, if you stop, that makes it easy for me." Kid jumped slightly and turned to face the pint sized detective.

"Oh, it's you." Kid waved it off.

"You know... you're not your self tonight. Is-Is something bothering you?" Conan asked.

"The same thing that's bothering the task force, I'm afraid." Kid answered. "...Shouldn't Hakuba be up here too?" He glanced around for the detective. Conan shrugged.

"I haven't seen him." The thief sighed and shook his head, checking the time deciding he'd better be leaving soon.

"Well, See you later, tantei-kun." He dived off the building. Kaito briefly considered stopping by to see Aoko himself but decided against it, he couldn't go near her house in kid guise. If that really was what started this, he just couldn't it. Instead he slipped back home, changed, and went to the kitchen to get a midnight snack.

"Kaasan?" He blinked when he saw the woman sitting at the table. She looked back at him and smiled.

"Hello, Kaito." the thief nodded and moved to sit with his mother.

"What are you doing up so late?" he settled into a chair. His mother shook her head and took a sip of hot green tea.

"Ginzo-kun called me today, he's really concerned about Aoko-kun. She's just not herself anymore, is she?" Kaito winced and then nodded, taking the green tea his mother pushed at him.

"No... I don't know what's wrong." He stated. "I thought she knew better." He said bitterly. "I never thought this could happen to someone I know. Especially not to Aoko."

"I didn't either, Kaito. But Ginzo-kun did say Hakuba-kun was taking care of her." Kaito couldn't help the surge to jealousy he felt at that.

"Yeah, he is." the thief stood up. "Well, I'm headed to bed. He explained, heading out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Night Kaito." His mother called after him.

-

Aoko stirred lightly, pulling the covers over her as she felt a cool draft in her room. Daylight was peaking through her blinds and urging her to wake up as it slowly filled her room. The girl shifted again and suddenly became aware of a warm weight on top of her and opened her eyes a little to focus on Hakuba.

"Oh God." Aoko whispered to herself, suddenly remembering what she'd done.


	7. dating

((I do not own Magic Kaito))

"Ah!" Aoko gasped quickly and moved to push Hakuba off, had she really? She stopped and realized she was still fully clothed, the sudden memory faded away and she blushed hard. She was jumping to conclusions again.

"Mm." Hakuba muttered, starting to wake up at the sudden noise and movement. His eyes opened slowly as he focused on the girl trapped beneath him.

"Aoko-kun!" He pulled off of her. "S-Sorry... I roll around a lot in my sleep." He explained, blushing slightly. "I-I didn't crush you, did I?" He asked. Aoko blinked and then let out a sigh as the real memory of last night hit her.

"N-no, I'm okay." She moved to get out of bed. Saguru gently grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Aoko-kun..." he started as she turned to look at him. "Are you feeling better?" She thought about it for a minute and then smiled softly.

"Yeah." She shifted so she could lean against him, feeling his arms wrap around her.

"You seemed a little shaken." He muttered against her ear, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. "You know, your dad came back last night to check on you, but you were already asleep." He explained.

"Oh?" Aoko blinked, snuggling against the detective more. "It's really cold." she shivered.

"What do you mean? I'm kind of warm-" He stopped as he realized why she was cold. "Oh." He shifted slightly to pull the blanket around her shoulders and hold her to him again. "Better?"

"Mmhm." She nodded sleepily.

"You know... if I didn't know any better, I'd say something was going on between you two." Kaito's voice made Hakuba jump. He rolled his eyes and turned to face the thief.

"Do you normally sit on her window sill and watch what goes on inside her room?" Saguru inquired, just a touch annoyed.

"I'd ask if you normally spend time in Aoko's room, but I already know the answer to that." Kaito shot back. Hakuba shook his head and tuned the thief out, it was probably better for his sanity.

"Kuroba, I came over to check on Aoko-kun last night, that's all." He could tell Aoko was starting to get annoyed with the conversation. Any intelligent person would drop the conversation, Hakuba braced himself for Kaito's response.

"That was last night, why are you still here? You didn't-?" Aoko flushed from where she was leeching off Hakuba's warmth as she knew what Kaito was thinking.

"Kuroba, be reasonable, if I had-had done **that** with Aoko-kun, do you really think I'd still be alive?" He checked his watch. "Keibu came home last night and is probably sleeping in his room." Kaito faltered, thinking over what Hakuba was saying and realized it did make sense.

"..Okay." He accepted it. "Alright, you're right... I'm going to get breakfast," he stated, sanding up from the place he was sitting and heading back to his house. Hakuba sighed and pulled the girl closer. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on in terms of his relationship with Aoko, but he definitely liked it.

"Thank you." He heard her say softly. He nodded and kissed the top of her head. After a few moments Aoko decided she'd effectively absorbed enough heat and shakily got up, heading to the kitchen and stopping.

Hakuba followed after her and watched, silently cheering her on as she opened the refrigerator door. He couldn't fight the discontented sigh that came out when she only grabbed the jar of cherries. He thought about saying something, asking about her weight, but he didn't want to upset her, and he didn't know if he could handle knowing what her weight was.

Instead, he strode over to her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head.

"H-Hey, I should get home before I get in trouble." He told her, "But, you're welcome to come over later, if you want." Aoko blushed and then nodded, popping a cherry in her mouth as she did.

"O-of course." She smiled. The detective released her and headed out.

--

"...Are you dating him?" Kaito asked his friend as he sat beside her on her bed. Aoko blushed and shook her head.

"What kind of stupid question is that? I'm not dating anyone." She denied, hugging her knees.

"Well... you and Hakuba have been really close lately, so I was just wondering.."

"Why? You jealous?" She asked, causing him to blush and sputter.

"N-no way, why would I be? I mean, If you want to date him, go ahead, I don't know why he'd want to date you though." He rambled, not noticing the hurt look on his friends face. He stopped when he noticed her shoulder's trembling. "...Aoko?" She was silent for a long time, and he listened as a storm was brewing outside, and possibly another was brewing inside his friend.

"...I thought I told you to leave me alone." She stood up, leaving the room.

"Aoko! I didn't-What did I do!?" He followed after her.

"Everything Kaito." She spat. "Okay? Everything. You did everything."

"Me?!" He blinked, bewildered.

"Just how stupid do you think I am? How much more do you think I can take?" She snapped, feeling her blood boil.

"...What do you mean?"

"Just-Just get out." She muttered, turning on the faucet water. The thief watched her for several seconds before finally leaving. The girl took several deep breaths before letting out a loud, ear-splitting, scream.

--

"Aoko-kun?" Hakuba blinked as he opened the door, having answered it himself as his house keeper was away. She soaked from the random downpour that had hit, and breathing hard as she stared at him. He couldn't tell if she'd been crying or not, the mood she was in suggested it. She was furious and hurt all at once, he could see the wild fire in her eyes, ready to consume anything and everything in it's path.

She swallowed hard and stared at him a little more. "Hakuba-kun." She got out, watching him still. "W-would-would."

"Would..?" he gently pressed as it looked like she was about to break down, the fire dying. She shook her head and moved to hug him, instinctively he hugged back. "Aoko-kun, are you okay?"

"Kaito's an idiot." she told him, her voice broken.

"I know.." he said gently. "Kuroba just doesn't get it." He pulled her closer.

"N-No, he's just-" She stopped and pulled away to look at him a minute. "He's just being mean." The detective leaned down to kiss her gently, feeling her arms wrap around his neck.

"What did he do?" he rubbed his forehead against hers once their lips had parted.

"Nothing. Just." She looked at him again. "W-would you ever date me?" She demanded, determined for an answer.

"If you'll have me, of course I would." He didn't hesitate to give her one. "D-Did you want to date?" Aoko blushed at that and thought it over. Did she want to date him? He was the one taking care of her and she had kissed him a lot recently.

"Yes." She answered. "I-I do." Hakuba couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he leaned down to kiss her again.


End file.
